The Sound of Rose
by bad wolfs coming
Summary: What if the war Harold Saxon began in the Doctor's world occured in Rose's as well? What if she was the one in Martha's shoes but with no Doctor to cling to? And what if the Tardis pulled through the void to give Rose the help and love she needs? 10/Rose
1. Chapter 1

"Where to?" his voice rang out over the hum of the Tardis' engine as she warmed up, preparing for yet another dangerous mission that the Doctor was bound to find. Really, it was as if the ship knew he needed trouble of any sort to get by. Of course, while his new companion Donna was also a fan of trouble she enjoyed rest and relaxation just as much. "How about somewhere where I don't have to run for my life - say a resort world, do they have those? Resort worlds? I always thought they would - you know - commission small moons and planets solely for the purpose of making money. I'd certainly visit a giant rock-o-spa. Actually is there a planet called that, rock-o-spa? I should open one on a mountain resort or something on earth - catchy isn't it? Rock-o-spa, rock-o-spa, fun to say too" the red head commented from her place against the railing. After only a week, Donna had learned to take up stance against something solid when the Tardis was warming up and also while in flight as to avoid bumps and bruises caused from crash landings. Speaking of bruises she was leaning right on one at the moment ,wincing she pulled away from the railing. "Wellll, entire worlds? No, moons however - moons most certainly. You humans, you're not the only lot who place so much weight in currency. Advanter is highly regarded in the Northplex galaxy kind of like the equivalent to gold and diamonds on your planet though to be fair there are much more brilliant minerals on Pluto. Frozen rock you say? Hah!" the Doctor chuckled under his breath before getting back to what he had been saying "But yes, yes there are resort moons or so to speak - moons dedicated solely to that. Your moon will be bought by some micosweater, micro velvet, micro" "Soft?" Donna offered, "Yes! Yes Microsoft in 2120, remarkable that." the Doctor concluded with a nod before smacking the control panel with his mallet and going about his business - leaving Donna's question completely unanswered which would simply not do, especially for Donna. "Well?" the red head inquired, folding her arms over her chest in momentary insanity as she waited for his reply. "Well .. What?" he asked, giving her a curious look as he dropped the mallet he was holding and soniced the control panel, "Can we go somewhere - relaxing? My feet are killing me!" she replied with a look that clearly said "you stupid alien git" The Doctor was quite used to said look and was actually rather fond of it now. "Well sure!" he replied happy and before Donna could reply or even get her grip she was flung to the ground as the Tardis took off. "OI! WARNING!" she shouted and the Doctor just laughed.

--

"Rose!" the warning shout echoed over the sound of gunfire from the opposite end of the battle field. It had been two years her time since the Doctor had disappeared from her life and a 21 year old Rose Tyler was the one spinning around just in time to see a particularly busted looking Toclafane hovering overhead. Ducking without so much as a wince she returned fire and hit the alien square in the center of it's capsule before dashing over to the place where her best mate now sat. "Thanks" she panted as she ducked for cover behind an overturned taxi. "Anytime" the man replied with a smile. Glancing over the side, Rose pushed a strand of her now chocolate brown hair out of her face. "They're retreating" she remarked a bit disbelieving, "Why are they retreating?" she said fingering the trigger of her gun as she propped it against the side of the beat up vehicle. "Who cares so long as they're gone from here?" Mickey replied in a very Mickey like manner, watching as their mutual friend Jake took out another one and the body immediately disappeared. It had been just 6 months ago that the dismantled Torchwood group had commissioned a weapon solely designed for taking out the Toclafane, one that disintegrated their protective metal shell in an instant and let the ooze that had once been human fall into a puddle on the ground into something completely unrecognizable. This world had yet to learn of the history of their enemies and had they known it was their future they would have been repulsed, as it was though they still assumed the Toclafane to be a particularly brutal race from across the galaxy. They had no idea that they were their descendants. Still, the manner in which they came to pass had always disturbed Rose as their disappearing shells and molten bodies left her unsure of how many they had killed by the end of the battle and it was always disheartening to see an entire field littered with just her fellow team mates. "I do because if they're retreating that means they're going somewhere - you know that Mickey" Rose replied as she glanced over her shoulder to see if there were any new Toclafane approaching from behind. When she was sure there where none lurking behind buildings or other various mounds of garbage she turned back, her brow still creased in confusion before it smoothed and an equally as displeased expression took hold of her face. "The safe house" she said in a voice barely above a whisper - turning back to Mickey who joined in the distress she now faced. "Robbie"

--

It was amazing what a year and a half could do. Absolutely amazing though Rose Tyler knew better then most that it only took a second for the entire world could change. The world was always moving, shifting, changing but this change - oh this change the whole world could see. It happened overnight or so it seemed. Harold Saxon came to presidency the same year Rose arrived on this parallel earth. He seemed true, kind, like he would lead this Britain back to the golden age it had once so happily been a part of. Of course little did any of them know that he was not only a time lord but one known for manipulation. Whilst the Doctor fixed things the Master corrupted them for his own benefit and when the smoke cleared and half the population was gone Rose felt foolish for ever falling under his spell. Rose prided herself on being quick, clever, after all that's why the Doctor had chose her, right? Still, the sound of drums had gotten to her - had gotten to everyone. No one saw through it - not a single soul which was why the world was like this - just like this. The Toclafanes came in swarms, this Harold Saxon hadn't introduced them before his election to the position of Prime Minister. This Harold Saxon kept them a secret, as a weapon, and when election day came to pass so did the extermination of half the human race. Rose's mum hadn't made it though her dad did despite the fact that he was an absolute wreck. They had both lost Jackie twice, two times and rather then going catatonic, Rose buried herself in fighting for a world better than this - for the future of her brother.

At first they were able to maintain safe zones, zones which were protected from the Toclafanes but the electricity fields ceased when Saxon or rather the Master cut off the electricity to all of London and later the world and it was then that things grew drastic. By the time a year had passed barely 1/3 of the human race had survived and even now it was dwindling and if the nursery up ahead was reached the future of London would be gone as would Rose's dear baby brother. "Run!" "Rose don't!" the shout was lost to her as the woman took off leaving Mickey in the dust looking panicked and flustered before he decided to follow her. Rose was all Mickey had - Rose, her family and Jake. His grandmother hadn't been able to survive, her blindness severely stunting her chances and by the time Mickey had returned to her flat well -- it was too late. His quest for revenge was equal to Rose's if not greater - he'd had it with bloody alien creatures tearing his world, worlds, apart. Looking up ahead he could barely make out the brunette anymore so he pushed himself further, faster. Up ahead, Rose was pumping her arms and pushing off the ground as fast and hard as she could. The winter wind ripped through her hair and tore at her lungs, great heaving breaths escaping her mouth as she dodged various forms of fire. It was no secret who Rose Tyler was. Rose Tyler, co-president of Torchwood. Rose Tyler, leading fugitive. Rose Tyler, defender of the earth. She was wanted more than anyone else because Harold Saxon Saxon was a Timelord and Harold Saxon knew that if he didn't stop her soon she would be the one to bring his revolution to an end. She was the focal point in this war - the only one who could make or break the future of this entire planet and all it's occupants and believe you me that weighed heavily on Rose's shoulders.

"Rose! Rose please, Rose wait!" the cries were growing distant as Mickey's legs tired and he found himself ducking for cover on the side of a building only to join up with Jake. "Ay mate" he turned to the familiar voice and gave a half hearted smile. "We're doing pretty alright, yeah?" Jake asked hopefully, looking for Mickey's approval as if he were Ricky. It was sad, that he saw him as that. Mickey took someone else's place when he chose to stay here and that was painful enough but being regarded by Jake and all the other members of his alternative's unit as such still bothered him. "Actually we're doing the opposite - they're heading towards the safe zone" Jake faltered, his hand twitching as he grasped what the darker man had told him. "The nursery?" he questioned with a dark look in his eyes, "The nursery" Mickey confirmed and Jake swallowed. "We have to get over there - where's Rose?" "Where do you think?" Jake let out a hesitant laugh, "She's awful reckless that one" he said as he crept along the wall in hopes to being their trip to the safe zone immediately. The coast had to be clear first. "More than reckless, it's like she doesn't give a damn" Mickey said with a sigh, where was the Doctor when you needed him? "Are you ready for this?' Jake replied instead, looking over his shoulder at Mickey. "No - are you?" - "Never" and with that final word they took off.


	2. Chapter 2

Meanwhile somewhere in the underbelly of London the sound of the universe turning came to be in a long since forgotten subway tunnel, a sound that was left behind, in a void the Doctor never thought he'd ever pass through again,. Of course, given this uncertain and dangerous trip the Tardis made a crash landing if there ever was one, throwing it's occupants to the floor with a thud.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS THAT!?" Donna shouted having been bounced around for the past 10 minutes before being flung into absolute darkness. At the moment she was stuck between a pillar and the grating on the console floor hearing only panicked mutterings as the Doctor raced around the control panel.

"Impossible, no no no, girl - oh girl are you okay. Are you alive?" Alive, the ship was alive! Donna mentally marveled over this fact again as she struggled to right herself before her back broke. "A little help over here!" she said and of course the Doctor came after stumbling over his own feet a few times. "Right, right sorry - sorry" he muttered, lifting Donna with surprising ease since she was admittedly bigger than him before he went back to his pacing.

"This - this isn't happening I can't - I mean - that door. That door!" he said, raking a hand through his hair and even going so far as to tug at the strands as he paced leaving Donna both literally and metaphorically in the dark. "What's going on? What happened, why is it so dark and what about that door?" the red head questioned in a very Donna like manner. Refreshing, this one. All attitude, he liked it. "Is this .. Thing! .. Sick or something?"

"Shhhhhhh!" the Doctor scolded, stroking his machine in a loving manner which caused the Donna to chuckle under her breath, earning her a glare. "She isn't a thing she's a Tardis and in a sense, yes, she's sick."

"And where has she brought us? Rock-o-spa or some lava plant that will burn me till there's no tomorrow? Or perhaps they are Lycasmithes on the other side just waiting to rip our heads off or perhaps those polite little blue people who will wait on me hand and foot. You know, I like them." Donna said, beginning to speak with surprising ease of the aliens they had encountered. The Doctor would have swelled with pride had the situation not been so wonderfully grave.

"What's out there" the Doctor replied, going over the screen and repeatedly tapping it before realizing that of course it wouldn't work. Slapping a hand to his forehead he sighed, "What's out there" he said gesturing to the door, "If my assumptions are correct, is earth." Had it not been so dark the mussed up man would've seen a very bewildered Donna, furrowing a brow and giving him an expression that clearly said "So what?"

"Earth." she repeated with a frown, "Well, then, why are you pacing and panicking? Are we too far in the future stuck with a sick Tardis and I don't know war-ridden, plague-ridden earth?" Since growing up, Donna Noble had become very inventive he noted. "No, no that's not it." the Doctor said with a sigh, finally beginning to move and this time Donna heard a familiar scrap of the grating being removed and the unmistakable sound of the Doctor fumbling with the wires.

"Doctor, what is it? Explain now!" she said, arms folded over her chest as she carefully began maneuvering her way around the main console in hopes of locating him without falling into the underbelly of the ship.

"Thing is this earth is not your earth nor my earth. This reality is entirely different." Reality, Donna processed the word. She was still new at this and so the idea of a parallel universe hadn't even so much as crossed her mind. "What do you mean .. reality? How is this a different reality?" she asked clearly befuddled. The Doctor sighed as he continued scrambling around in the wires searching for a spark of life.

He was trying to think of anything other than what might happen when they left the Tardis. What year it would be, whether Rose would still be alive. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he thought of the body of his past companion rotting away in the ground, wrinkled and shriveled with age and if she was long since passed how her life had gone without him. Had she married, had children, dare he say it - moved on?

He had, of course, wanted her to move on, be happy but the self-fish part of him - the part that desperately loved her wanted her to have waited for him. He loved her enough, of course, to let her go but that shred of self-fishness held on. There was, of course, the possibility that she was still alive, perhaps it had only been mere seconds since their good bye in which case he could finally finish his sentence, finally tell her that he loved her. He not only loved her, he was in love with her. Totally in love with Rose Tyler, London shop girl.

He felt himself smile a bit despite the severity of the situation. If they were where he thought they were she could come back to him like nothing had changed. She would be his. He tried not to get up his hopes though because there was the strong possibility that this would not come to pass and he couldn't lose her again.

"Have you ever read a comic or seen a movie or telly show about parallel universes, parallel realities?" the Doctor inquired and though Donna nodded he couldn't see it so she spoke up. "Yes" she confirmed clearly waiting for more. "Remember when I said I lost my companion, my -- Rose" he said pausing before saying her name. His Rose. Donna barely picked up on it though. "Yes, of course" she said nodding again though the gesture was lost to shadows. "What are you saying? You lost Rose to a parallel world?" she inquired.

Ding, ding, ding give the girl a medal. "Exactamundo!" damn, hadn't he sworn to never use that world again. "So .. What's the big deal then? We'll go have a merry reunion and be on our way" Donna replied leaning back now though the railing wasn't quite where she thought it was so she stumbled a bit. "It's not that simple?"

"Is it ever?" The Doctor laughed a bit, the sound of more wires being tossed around ringing through the eerily dead Tardis. "Thing is the Tardis is linked to our reality and our reality one not to mention that the fabric between dimensions is delicate, thin, easily ripped. That's why I couldn't get to Rose otherwise believe you me I would've. I would've done anything to -- but that's no the point. The point is that this reality is not ours and therefore the Tardis is not linked to it. It also means that we've caused a disturbance not only in our reality but this as well. When I lost Rose we were at risk of having two worlds fold in on each other" he rambled "Travel between dimensions it used to be easy when my people were around could pop in and out before tea time but now that it's just me it isn't that simple" he said and Donna nodded,

"Delicate" she repeated in agreement. "Delicate" the Doctor agreed before letting out a squee of joy and illuminating the Tardis with a single breath directed into a little green crystal. "And what the bloody hell is that?" Donna asked as a beaming Doctor reemerged from the hull, lighting up the inside of the ship with the light from the small beckon of hope which actually made it all the more creepy. "This, my dear Donna, is our ticket home" the red head smile and waited for further explanations.

It was some thirty minutes later and after careful deliberations that the two companions emerged from the blue police box only to be greeted with darkness yet again. "Are you sure we made it through the void?" Donna hissed in a whisper, tentatively toeing the ground to make sure it existed before stepping out. ":Better yet, are you sure this is even earth?"

The Doctor glanced around "I .. don't know" he admitted which obviously rubbed the red head the wrong way. "You don't know? You don't know! How just like a man to go spewing this and that and then saying he doesn't know. What are you an idiot?" she said and if she could had seen him she would've given him a shove but with their surroundings so unfamiliar she left it at a quiet scolding.

"The air is breathable and we aren't being attacked" yet "So far, so good."

"Life with you" Donna commented, "Always an adventure" he concluded with a grin and the woman just laughed. "Right" Still, the Doctor was absolutely buzzing in hopes that this world was Rose's world. In about 10 minutes though, that would all change.

"Which way should we go?" Donna inquired after standing in comfortable silence for a few seconds. "Mmm, right! Right seems the right of way. Right, right, righty-oh!" the Doctor concluded and Donna shook her head. "Idiot"

"Genius!" he argued. Maybe he was a bit of both.

It didn't take long for the Doctor to conclude that they were in fact in a tunnel, a subway tunnel, an out of commission subway tunnel maybe going through repairs. The electricity was off thank G-d since it would be impossible to move his ship and it getting hit by a train simply wouldn't do.

"How do you know that?" Donna asked when he informed her of this,

"The air, I can't feel it or taste it. There's no spark, no electricity" he informed her with an all knowing tone.

"You can feel, no - no - you can taste electricity?"

"Of course! You humans are so lacking in senses, do you know that?" the Doctor asked and Donna scoffed.

"You aliens are so lacking in manners, do you know that?" Typical Donna, how brilliant. The Doctor opened his mouth to replied but shuffling was heard up ahead and he halted, holding Donna back with a hand and accidentally brushing her chest.

"Oi watch out alien perv that's my --"

"Shhhhhh!: he cut her off shooting her a serious look and her voice fell away as she clued in to the movement and noises ahead, not to mention the lamp light. "What is it?" she whispered a bit too loudly - loudly enough to alert their presence and the Doctor inwardly groaned. Damnit Donna!

The light was snuffed and there was more shuffled before the sound of footsteps was heard inching ever forward. His heart jumped into his throat.. Friend or foe? They would soon find out.


	3. Chapter 3

Donna's grip on the Doctor's arm was growing increasingly painful as the footsteps grew closer and had he been focusing on that rather then their impending doom he would have noted that he was losing circulation due to her death grip. As it was though there were bigger things on his plate so he let it go and tried to determine who was up ahead.

Their breathing, he noted, was uneasy. Their steps fumbling and halting. He could even hear their heart racing and by the time the were mere feet away he could almost taste their fear. "Hello?" he called, chancing their exposure as Donna's eyes went wide and she smacked his arm.

The foot falls ceased and in a moment there was a light illuminating the tunnel revealing a woman. She stood before them dressed in what could only be considered rags. The clothes, he noted, had once been pretty upscale. It was a dress, a tattered lace dress and her hair fell in dirty, messy curls that stuck to her face. Her face and body were covered in dirt, her feet bare and cut up and her face contorted with a sadness he had never seen before. The Doctor opened his mouth after a moment but the girl cut him off.

"Who are you?" she asked with a furrowed brow. She couldn't have been older then 16 but she was clearly homeless. Poor thing, maybe they could take her into London - get her proper clothes, proper food, and oh Rassiolon a shower. Was that her that smelt?

"I'm the Doctor and this is my friend Donna" the red head gave a wave though she was clearly disgusted and the Doctor could've smacked her, instead he nudged her side and she softened her expression.

"The Doctor?" the girl said with a note of bewilderment. He merely nodded, "How do you mean, the Doctor?" she asked, why did everyone always have to ask? "I mean the Doctor, just the Doctor as in 'Hi Doctor, how are you Doctor?' just as you would say Hi, Donna and so on to her" he said jutting a thumb in his companion's direction which resulted in her twisting it, him yelping and pulling it back before shooting her a look. The girl didn't even crack a smile.

"Where did you come from?" she asked instead clearly uninterested in his name now. "Oh, you know" the Doctor began vaguely, "Here and there - we're the traveling sort." he said with a nod.

"Rebels?" the girl asked immediately looking hopeful but the Doctor just looked lost. "I suppose you could say that" he said trailing off as the girl's spirits seemed to lift. "I'm sorry - what do you mean rebels, what's going on?" he added in after a moment and this time the girl laughed. "Right" she said, fingers regripping the torch she had just lit before taking in their expressions.

"You don't know? You really don't know?" she asked in disbelief. "Where did you get those fancy clothes?" she questioned after a moment, "They look new" she said as if it was unheard of.

"Oh, these old things?" the Doctor began before catching himself and instead pressing for more information. "what's your name?" he asked and the girl paused for a moment.

"Marissa. Marissa Larson." she said in a clear yet quiet tone.

"How old are you Marissa?" the Doctor then asked.

"17 I think" she replied after a pause. "You think?" the Doctor asked, how didn't the girl know how old she was? Did she suffer from dementia at such a young age. "What do you mean you think?" There was Donna! The Doctor turned to look at her as she came out from behind him.

"Ay, sweet heart, there's a girl, it's okay, what do you mean you think?."the red head asked and the girl looked at Donna strangely taking in her outfit. "You're pretty" she said instead of replying and Donna gave her a smile, "Thank you, so are you."

The girl hesitated. "I haven't seen myself in so long" she whispered, touching her own hair and face. The two before her said nothing. "I remember the last time I did though, it was just before -- before all this" she whispered. "I don't know how long it's been but I think I'm 17. It's cold again, it must be winter. The tunnels, they stay warm. He keeps the generators on for his corporations. We can't tap into them though and even if we could we wouldn't. can't go exposing ourselves like that." she said talking mostly to herself as if trying to figure out a complex puzzle.

The Doctor of course was utterly confused, this couldn't be earth. It couldn't be the planet he left Rose on. "Where are we, what was the last time and place you remember - remember having a name?" The Doctor asked gently, snapping the girl back to attention as she looked at him in surprise as if she'd forgotten he'd even been there.

"Why London sir, London England. The last date I saw was 2005. I don't think it is anymore though - no - not anymore" she said softly and the Doctor's heart broke. Impossible, oh G-d, impossible. "No" he whispered and Donna looked over at him as he covered his mouth and shook his head.

"But it is sir or was. How can you not know? How?" she asked, looking at him. "The entire world, the war - this war - this war that he brought. The Master." The Doctors heart sank and a rush of scenes from the year that never was flashed before his eyes. The Master, his aged self, the terrors he saw, the genocide, the horror. He shook and Donna came to his side.

"Doctor, Doctor what is it? Are you okay?" Donna urged as the girl looked at him, "You know, you know him. He came with his promises and -- and -- we all thought -- we all thought he was good but he wasn't. He was elected and then they came, the Toclafane, they came and -- oh" Marissa shook her head and looked up trying to collect herself, the Doctor went to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay." he said even though it wasn't "I know" he supplied, the girl looked over at him clearly pained and nodded. "There's no one left but she'll save us sir, I know she will" Marissa said with a bit of tone in her voice.

The Doctor blinked, "Martha?" he asked, did his reality so closely mirror theirs? Was it possible? Was there another him on this plain and did he know about Rose? "Who's Martha?" the girl asked. Maybe not. "No one, never mind, who is she? Who'll save us?" the Doctor asked instead. "Why, Rose Tyler sir. Rose Tyler."


	4. Chapter 4

The name tore through him in a way it never had before. Two words, three syllables and he was lost. "Rose?" he repeated in a whisper and Donna let out a gasp from behind but he didn't turn.

"Yes, Rose. Rose Tyler. They say, they say she trained with monks in China before it all happened. Say she can take out an entire fleet in the blink of an eye. She set up the safe zones, organizes food drops. They say that the only person the Master fears is her, is Rose Tyler. They say he can see the future and it's her." Of course, of the things the girl said it was only the last bit that was true. Rose had never even seen a Monk in real life nor was she capable of wiping out a fleet of 25 Toclafane in a single second.

However, the Doctor didn't take that into account as his mind was reeling. Rose, his Rose. When he dubbed her defender of the earth he hadn't known it would be from this. The Doctor swallowed the lump in his throat as he imagined the state of the world above him and furthermore the state of Rose - of her family. My G-d.

"Rose" Donna said coming to join the two instead of standing in the background. "Your Rose, the Rose you lost, this is her world?" The Doctor nodded and the girl looked at him in amazement.

"You know her? You know her!" she said excitedly, "Oh! Oh! He knows her, Rose Tyler!" the girl called to the shadows and all of a sudden there was more shuffling and clamoring and 5 more people joined the girls side. 4 males and another female ranging between the ages of 8 and 45.

The youngest was introduced as Harry. John was next at the age of 18 followed by a 23 year old named Tom and his father Henry. As for the girl - she was around 25 and they were all in the same shape as Marissa,.

"Is it true? Will she save us?" Henry asked, clapping a hand on his son's shoulder as he took in the well groomed pair before him trying not to feel angry for the state they were in as opposed to them. How had they managed to stay so in touch with their previous lives? He swallowed it though and waited for an answer.

"My boy here, he knew her. Knows her." he informed the Doctor, "Met her in the raid in Wales. He was at a safe house. I hadn't gotten there but they were coming, the Toclafanes. They were coming for all of them and she came - her and 20 other of the Torchwood gang got them all out. Well, not all of them."

The boy swallowed, "My mother" he said, "She was lost along with 10 others, they tried to assist." he said softly and his father squeezed his shoulder. "Oh, I'm so sorry" Donna said sincerely and the two smiled sadly and nodded at her. "Ay, so many" the man commented. "Too many" another added, "She'll save us though" Marissa insisted, "You'll see" the Doctor merely nodded. Oh Rose, where had he sent her?

--

She could feel the vomit rising in her throat as she ran, it burned. Whether it was bile or blood she didn't know but it was coming and she refused to stop. The shooting pains in her thighs and calves were screaming for her to stop but she couldn't, not with 25 lives in jeopardy. She had to get them out or secure the safe house. The Toclafane would stake themselves outside of the compound but there were emergency exits underground, into the tunnels. They could get out there.

Realizing that whatever her body was repelling wouldn't wait any longer, the brunette fell behind a crumbled wall and repelled the contents of her stomach though admittedly it wasn't much. Opening her eyes she swiped at the tears leaking from her them due to the burn with one hand and taking in her throw up. A mixture of poor excuses for meals and blood. Brilliant. Taking in deep gulps of air, she felt her chest heave painfully as she looked around. No Toclafanes and while normally that was a good sign that meant that they were either ahead of her or behind and either way she need to get moving. Despite her bodies protest - she ran.

--

Mickey mounted the fence and hopped down on the other side, Jakes shortly after as they carefully followed Rose's route though not identically. They had encountered about 6 Toclafane on their treck to the nursery and had taken out all but one who managed to get away. Knowing Toclafanes though it was probably still tracking them and so their guard was up.

"20 minutes" Mickey sighed, noting the marker and grimacing. "We'll never make it in time"

"Don't say that" Jake argued, "We will, we have too." That safe house was crucial. Those people, those children. Jake swallowed as he imagined what it would look like if they were too late and found himself choking back a sob as he looked out over the landscape. It was exactly what you would expect of a war ridden country. Barren, bombed out, a mirror image of what had become of Britain in world war II though Rose was the only one who knew that. Over time it was gradually getting worse though which was to be expected.

"We have to hurry up and get moving." Mickey stated harshly and Jakes nodded, "You think I don't know that?" he replied a bit angrily, "But we'll be no use to them dead so shut up and keep an eye out. " he snapped back, his nerves on edge and Mickey all but growled at him. "I know that" he replied before shutting up and taking in the other side before nodding. "Coast is clear"

Carefully creeping out from their hiding spot they began moving carefully along their route, they had to make it they just had to.

--

"A year and a half" the Doctor repeated what Henry had told them as they began walking away and Donna nodded. "Un-bloody-believable. Parallel universes." she shook her head, "So then, how come this didn't happen in ours? I thought we closely mirror each other." she asked as they walked along hoping to find a station so they could go up to the surface.

Donna was weary of this without proper weapons but the Doctor argued that they would figure something out. Besides images of Rose plagued his mind. Rose smiling, Rose laughing, her tongue peaking out of the corner of her mouth. His name rolling off her tongue and finally her sobbing good-bye. "But I love you" he heard her voice say and he swallowed the lump in his through "Alone?" she repeated, cries ringing through his head. He shook the thoughts off.

"Doctor?" Donna pushed and his attentions returned to the companion with him at the moment. "Ah, what?" he asked clearly our of it and Donna gave him a puzzled look before repeating her question. "I asked why we didn't have this war if our universe is supposed to nearly mirror this one?" she repeated looking over at him curiously and the Doctor opened and closed his mouth a few times before explaining.

"Ah, well, see, thing is that -- mmm -- it did" he explained and Donna blinked and shook her head furiously, her brow furrowing in confusion. "I know I missed a lot of things - space ships and what not before I met you but the Prime Minister releasing hell on earth and killing off 2/3 of the population - that - that I wouldn't have missed!" she exclaimed and the Doctor shook his head.

"It happened and it didn't at the same time. In our universe, Harold Saxon, or the Master, he was elected Prime Minister as well. See he's a Time Lord and --" he began and Donna opened her mouth to question this but he held his hand up and continued "and a war like this followed but it lasted a year and only a year. In our world he built factories to build missiles but in this world he's just -- wiping out the human race with no rhyme or reason. Why, I don't know but -- ahhh -- my other companion"

"Rose?"

"No, not Rose"

"Martha?"

"Yes Martha, she changed it. Traveled the world spoke of me and when the year came up when the missiles were supposed to be launched a universal thought changed it" he explained trying to be clear and concise but failing.

"What - what the bloody hell are you talking about what universal thought? What?" she asked confusedly as they continued along the train tracks. Where the bloody hell was a station?

"Doctor" he finally replied

"Doctor?"

"Doctor" he confirmed.

"But I don't I don't understand how is he a time lord, you're the last right? Right?" Donna asked and the Doctor nodded, "Now. Now I am. See, Time Lords have a nifty trick, can turn themselves humans hide their essence in order to avoid being detected." he explained and Donna's eyes widened but before she could interject he trudged on.

"However they forget who and what they are, they believe they are human. They work out a back up story and hide their essence in - well I suppose you lot would call it a fog watch" Donna let out a laugh of disbelief.

"You mean that you put yourself along with all of space and time in a fog watch" she said and the Doctor nodded and didn't laugh along which was really unlike him but the red head understood. He had a lot on his mind, she knew that. "Basically, the Master he did that during the time war and hid at the end of the universe" he explained and Donna blinked, "What? There's an end of the" she began.

"There's always an end" he whispered and Donna opened her mouth to say something but instead reached out and held his hand, giving it a squeeze and he returned the gesture with a weak smile.

"When we found him he didn't know who he was but when Martha saw the watch, she recognized it and brought it to his attention. The pull to it grew stronger and he opened it, became who he was meant to be, gained awareness and stole the Tardis. I locked the coordinates to your time though so he couldn't reek havoc in everyone's time line however and so when he arrived he began his quest and it went from there" he explained.

"I don't understand, why don't I remember it?" she questioned and the Doctor let out a sigh, "Thing is these Troclafane, they're human. This world just doesn't know it. The Master, he built a paradox machine inside my Tardis so when they exterminated this human race they didn't exterminate themselves as well" and Donna's jaw dropped.

"Then why don't they explain it to them they're related, they're descendants why don't they call them human'?" she asked. All his companions were full of questions, weren't they?

"They're not human anymore they've been changed, altered. When they left their planet they went to what I can only assume was a laboratory and were transformed, their bodies and brains bunched up and pushed into this suits of armor that hover above all and aim to destroy. The Master is called the Master because it is just that. He's a manipulator and he can control what he wants - he controls them and in doing so he's raised an army, an army hell bent on wiping out the population above and according to these people they're doing a pretty good job." he said with a sigh and Donna's mind was racing.

"Why don't I remember this?" she questioned again.

"Because, because welllll, time reversed itself when the paradox machine broke. We were above the time wave though so me and Martha and everyone at the Master's headquarters remember it" he explained,

"And where's that?" Donna countered.

"Station, in the sky" he returned.

"In the sky?" Donna repeated in the form of a question and the Doctor nodded.

"In the sky" he confirmed and Donna said no more. Well, Donna said no more for about a minute. "So, this world is our world but with a longer war and different reasonings behind it?" The Doctor nodded once more, kicking a pebble and listening as it pinged off one of the tracks.

"What I can't figure out is how the Master got here, is there another me and if their is how come I'm not helping? Am I in the same place as I was in our war - in the Master's headquarters? Imprisoned?" he asked, not really expecting Donna to answer but she did.

"I don't know, maybe." she said squinting up ahead, "There's a station." she interjected and the Doctor sighed, "Finally" he had to find Rose.


	5. Chapter 5

There is was. The safe house was up ahead and .. No. Rose felt her insides turn, there was smoke - thick clouds of smoke radiating off the tip of the building that stuck out of the ground because it was mostly underground - kind of like a glacier Rose had once told Robbie. Robbie had never seen a glacier, not even a picture of one so he didn't know what it was and unfortunately Rose couldn't show him. She could only explain. Oh, G-d, Robbie.

Rose swallowed the lump in her throat and held back the tears that were threatening to fall as she stared at the building. Not Robbie, not her baby brother, oh, oh no. The run that she had ceased returned and pretty soon Rose was scambling through a broken window and choking back a sob.

The safe haven was no longer that but rather a grave - a mass grave filled with tiny little bodies. Tiny little bodies that were still clinging to one another. Rose couldn't help herself she fell to her knees, squeezing her eyes shut and willing the imagines away. She could have done something. Could've ran faster, could've stayed to guard them instead of running off into battle, could've left more people behind,. Could've done so much but she hadn't and now -- oh they were all dead.

Her body shook with sobs. Tiny hands holding tiny hands, little shoes, little clothes, little people, little children. Oh they must have been so scared. If she could've willed herself to look she would've seen their tear stained faces and their final intense moments written across their faces. How horrible, her throat swelled up threatening her ability to breath.

"Rose?" she was pretty she it was her longing for Robbie to be alive that cut through the silence and disaster rather than her actual little brother, she only sobbed harder. "Rose?" her name was repeated and she shook her head, falling onto her hands now as she began heaving for air, she couldn't breath. Had she been focusing she would have heard the foot falls but it was the sudden force she was hit with that startled her.

"Robbie?" she whispered, wrapping the blond boy up in her arms as his body mimicked hers and began wracking itself with sobs. "Rose, Rose, Rose" he sobbed "So scared, they - they - they came and - and - and" How had he survived? Rose rubbed his back and thanked G-d for him being returned to her safely. She tried to focus on that blessing rather then the fact that the others were dead.

"Robbie, Robbie-boy it's okay. I'm here now, I'm here. I'm so sorry I was late, so sorry I wasn''t here to protect you to save them, oh Robbie" the little boy sobbed. He was only 2 years old - 2 and he had seen so much horror that it was amazing he was still so sweet. "They - they - they all fell down. Down, down, they went. Oh Rose, are they in heaven are they with Mummy?" he sobbed into her shoulder and Rose bit back her own tears. Robbie couldn't remember Jackie but he made things up about her and spoke of her often like she was still around. Mummy this, Mummy that, it broke Rose's heart. Jackie would have loved him. G-d, she missed her. Her Mum, she was brilliant, wasn't she?

"Yes" Rose replied softly, soothing her brother's sobs as he clung to his older sister, "Yes Robbie - they are in heaven.

--

The smoke said enough for Mickey and Jake. They were too late. It was the same message that had been conveyed to Rose upon her arrival - too bad, so sad, they're dead. Mickey swallowed the lump in his throat and the panic attack that was threatening to take hold of him. "No" he whispered, his gun clattering to the ground in a foolish move as he raced towards the ruins. Rose, Robbie, they were all he had. He wasn't close to Pete. In fact, he rarely saw Pete as he was head of Torchwood and always busy. What if his family was dead and in turn Mickey's as well.

Descending at a rapid speed Mickey was greeted with the awful sight of a massacre and could only let out a strangled sob which penetrated into the room that Rose and Robbie were currently stationed in. Rose had Robbie bundled in her arms as she maneuvered through the wreckage of corpses and rubble. If her mature mind could barely stand the sight without going mad she could only imagine what it would do to a two year old who had not only lived through it but been forced to hide out in it.

Robbie's survival, in truth, was a miracle. When the Toclafane had arrived he had been in the cupboard, the sound of explosion alerted the young boy of the oncoming slaughtered and so he climbed into a 1/3 filled 5 lb bag of rice and closed up the edges. While the Toclafane were brutal, they were not smart. They thought to check above, and under things but not in them and so Robbie was safe and the rest? Well, their bodies said it all.

"Mickey?" Rose called out. Toclafane couldn't cry and the sobs coming from the other room was distinctly his. "Rose?" her name was spoken which such hope it broke her heart. Mickey loved her, she knew that very well, he always had and Rose loved him. However, Mickey's love was romantic and Rose's was purely platonic. Rose was in love with a man she would never see again and no other could compare to him. Romance was not in Rose's future not ever, especially with this war.

Hearing the foot steps, Rose paused, leaning against the wall as she listened to Mickey's frantic scuffles and Robbie's uneven breathing. "Rose" Mickey turned the corner seconds later and swept the two up in his arms. "Mickey!" Robbie cried, turning from Rose to the older man who swept him into a hug immediately. "Hey, hey there little guy. Look at you, what a trooper. Oh, what a trooper" he cooed, Mickey. Mickey Smith, Rose smiled - barely.

"Any others?" Mickey inquired trying not to look at the bodies. Each one had a name, a story, a face and he knew every single one. He couldn't bare it, not now. "No" Rose replied, stroking her brother's back as he made sure Mickey was real just as he had made sure Rose was. "None" - Mickey bit back a sob and hugged Robbie tighter. "Thank G-d for you little man - thank G-d.

--

It took some time to make their way around the mounting garbage and rubble that had built up at the subway station but eventually they emerged and a part of the Doctor wished they never had. "This is London?" Donna questioned in a pained tone as she took in her surroundings. The Doctor paused, looking around before spotting a road sign and nodding. "This is London" Donna swallowed, "My G-d" she whispered.

The streets were littered with rubble, trash, over turned cars and worst of all bodies. Bodies in various states of decay that made Donna let out a strangle sob and turn into the Time Lord who gratefully hugged her, rubbing her back. "By Rassilon" he agreed, memories of the Time War flashing back upon seeing the state of London. "I'm so sorry Rose" he murmured.

"I'm so glad I don't remember this." Donna whispered harshly, not daring to pull her face away from the Doctor's chest at the moment and all the alien could do was merely nod. "Ay, I'm so glad I didn't have to witness it first hand."

The statement confused his companion at first but then she remembered, he was imprisoned, ah sense. Donna nodded, her head bobbing against her chest in agreement. This was awful. "Do you suppose there's a paralellel me?" she asked softly, "Probably" the Doctor replied after a moments thought, "Whether she;s alive or not is beyond me though" he added in after a moment and Donna swallowed. Right now, somewhere, her body could be rotting and yet here was another version of her. Alive and well and apparently in fancy clothes according to the mole people. Yes, Donna had decided to dub them that.

"Donna!" a shout from the left indicated that they weren't alone and the Doctor immediately whipped out his sonic screwdriver. Had she not been so frightened she would have laughed at the gesture. A sonic screwdriver, it looked so silly and definitely not threatening. Still, if it's power was conveyed in it's appearance Donna was certain anyone and thing who saw it would back the bloody hell off. Maybe this person would too. Wait a minute, did they know her name?

Watching as a man in combat clothes emerged from behind a wall he began waving them oer. "Get over here, what are you mad?!" he shouted angrily and Donna blinked in confusion, looking around. "Guess that answers our question" the Doctor replied, beginning to make his way over to the man with ease which angered Donna. What was he, an idiot? They were in a war zone.

"What question?" the red head asked, pausing before trailing after him, "Whether or not you have a paralellel twin" the Doctor replied as if it were the most obvious thing. Donna blinked, "That man knows your name, knows you, your not the only Donna Noble around here" Maybe she was bold in this world, the red head thought as they made their final approach, the man tugging them in.

He was tall, nearing 6'2 and he had jet black hair and grey eyes; His face was dusted with freckles, his skin pale, black irish. Donna had a cousin that looked like him. "My G-d, woman, so bloody stubborn. Where the hell have you been? We've been going out of our minds!" he exclaimed, silently scolding her as Donna stood uneasily next to the Doctor.

"I'm sorry?" Donna said as more of a question then an apology. "We thought we lost you. Canary Wharf is half a days trip if your lucky, you've been gone two weeks! Jesus, Donna, so thick!" he repeated and Donna frowned.

"Oi! Watch your mouth! You should be glad I'm back, keep insulting me I'll wander off!" Donna replied and the Doctor smiled fondly at the woman. It was then that the man noticed her new compainion. "And who's this?" the man asked. The Doctor opened his mouth to reply but thought better to give his name again. The Doctor sounded too much like the Master and it was best to use a human name. People probably wouldn't be too trusting of aliens especially now.

"Smith" the Doctor said instead and Donna furrowed her brow in confusion. "John Smith" he said, sticking his hands out. "I was at Canary Wharf, trying to figure out if Torchwood was still around when she found me, saved my life this one." the Doctor said, jerking her head in Donna's direction. Good cover story he thought.

The man smiled, "Ah, that's our Donna" he said "It isn't there though, I expect she told you. It was one of the first buildings to go, went when the news was still being broadcast" he explained, "Surprised you didn't know that"

The Doctor nodded, "I just -- didn't believe it and -- needed help cause -- I'm all alone" he explained, stumbling along and the man gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Seem to be doing well, you two, where did you find a clothing store that hadn't been ransacked?" he asked, taking them in and Donna opened her mouth, closed it, and then spoke. "Ah, the fancy clothes, yeah - yeah we did. We got into a scuffle, got a bit cut up last week, had to find replacement clothes." she said, playing along. Brilliant she was, the Doctor nodded in agreement.

"Did you bring anymore with you? Could your or is it still there, couldn't carry it? We could use it, back at the safe house." The Doctor answered this time. "No, 'fraid there wasn't." he said with a frown, "'Shwy we look a bit silly, stole these off some mannequins left in the back of a busted down shop. Surprised they were there" 'John', heh, explained.

"Aye, lucky find. Great condition" he said looking between the two before nodding. "Ah -- Donna then could I have a word?" the man asked rather suddenly and Donna gave him a curious look. "Now, you want a word now?" Who was this guy and how was he alive if he was having 'a word' in the middle of all this? "Yes," the man agreed with a nod, "Just a word, just for a moment" and Donna furrowed her brow.

The Doctor figured that the word was about him which made sense given the state of things. Madness drives people mad. He figured whoever this man was wanted to make sure he was an alright guy and judging by the look and the way Donna waggled her finger at him when they did step away he figured he was right.

Beaming proudly at his companion when she returned, Donna rolled her eyes and nodded her head towards Grady before giving him the 'What a plunker!' look which caused him to laugh a little. Said laugh threw the man off but he ignored it.

"Oi, guess I should introduce myself to you then yeah. Names Grady, Grady Tumnus. Pleased to meet you Mr. Smith. Tell me, where did you come from? How did you survive for so long on your own? It's rare that any unarmed civilian does." Donna almost laughed at that. The Doctor, an unarmed civilian! Yeah right! She held it back though, thank goodness.

"I've drifted" the Doctor supplied, "Safe house to safe house. I was moving to the one here but I lost my way and figured to aim for someplace I know" Merlin, he was a brilliant liar. Grady nodded, "Ah yes, lucky Donna was out scouting for supplies when you were, we don't venture over there often. it's rough grounds, Saxon's got it covered pretty well." Grady said and the Doctor nodded, "We know" he agreed, Grady smiled.

"Well, we should be getting back, the sun will be going down soon and I need to catch up with everyone, Rose will be pleased to see you alive and well." Grady said the name causing both Donna and the Doctor's eyes to go wide. Grady laughed.

"Don't worry, she'll forgive you for making her go out of her mind with worry" he offered to the red head before beaming at the Doctor. "Suppose you've heard of her then?" Grady asked and the Doctor nodded, "I knew her, know her, from before all this. We were .. Separated. She was, is" what? What was she? "My mate, we traveled for a while."

Grady looked at him for a moment and then nodded, "she'll be happy to see you alive as well then, this'll be a real treat. She could use one, been through so much. All of us have but I reckon you lot know that. C'mon time to get a move on." The two companions nodded in agreement as the Doctor's heart thumped in his chest - Rose - his Rose.

--

**Thanks for the reviews guys! They're brilliant! Keep them coming. Getting any kind of feedback is a wonderful thing, it's great inspiration! Feel free to throw in your two cents!**


	6. Chapter 6

It took about an hour for Rose, Mickey, Jake, and Robbie to walk back to their safe house undetected. The nursery had always been so well hidden, so much better then their 'headquarters' but apparently not safe enough since it was no longer standing. The sight of the tiny bodies curled up and broken still weighed heavily on them and the fact that there was no time or coverage to bury them further upset the trio. Those children exposed to the elements and bugs was an awful thing and the whole way home Rose pictured maggots in their eyes and their stomachs full of worms and beetles instead of candy.

Their walk was silent. Rose's limbs ached from her run that rendered no results and from cradling Robbie against her as he slept curled into her. "I'm sorry Rose" Jake said half way into the walk. Rose gave him a puzzled look as if to ask why. "Sorry we couldn't save them. It's not your fault." Jake said softly though each and every one of them, of course, thought it was their fault and theirs alone.

"You're wrong" Rose said after a moment, "It is" and before they could argue she walked ahead and Mickey shot him a disgruntled look. Jake just shrugged and looked ahead to assure the brunette's safely. Rose meant a lot to a lot of people. She was strong, kind, understanding and so giving. The people in the safe havens relied on her and the ones who knew her loved her. She was a beckon of hope and that kept them going but what kept her going? The weight of the world was on her shoulders and with absolutely no light, her life had become a tunnel of overwhelming darkness. She might save the world but - who would save her?

--

"Well here we are Donna, home sweet home" Grady said as they approached a shabby building set on the edge of no where. Donna frowned, she lived here?? Ugh. She didn't voice this though, merely smiled. "Feels good to be back" she lied since this was the first time she'd ever been here. "It's brilliant" the Doctor threw in to lay the act on. After all supposedly he was a wandering man and this would look like heaven to anyone who had been caught in a war zone.

"It's not much" Grady supplied "But it's home" the two others nodded as they approached the building. Grady led them around back, going in through an odd trap door in the back that resembled a cellar only after punching in a series of number into a key pad. "Generator" he explained to the man he believed was John Smith. "When it runs out we don't know what we'll do" he said sadly, it was the only thing keeping the safe house, well, safe. That and the fact that for some reason unknown to them the Toclafane didn't know where to find it.

Moments later the trio found themselves in the 'living room; of the safe house where various people were laid out on couches. Some were sleeping, others speaking. "Donna!" a blond on the other side of the room beamed and for a moment the Doctor's hearts began to race but then he saw her face and realized this blond wasn't the blond he was looking for. Little did he know that the blond he was looking for wasn't even blond anymore. Donna, of course, didn't know any of them by name and was relying on Grady to do the polite thing and introduce them to the Doctor so she in turn could learn their names.

"Thank G-d you're alive!" she said, crossing the room along will several other people who swarmed around her. Donna smiled nervously accepting hugs and questions and repeating the story the Doctor had made up., Speaking of the Doctor, the man now going by the name of Mr. Smith was standing off to the side while she went through this whole song and dance.

Donna had obviously been very influential in this world - he knew she had it in her. He smiled at the greetings and praise his companion received before their attention turned to him. "Oh" Donna said and gestured to her only true friend in the room. "This is Mr. John Smith. I picked him up along the way" she said with a light chuckle that a few of the crowd joined in on.

At this, the group began to introduce themselves. It was a bit overwhelming but after half an hour Grady led the two from the room and up to the kitchen. "I bet you're hungry, I know I am. you're lucky you found food. Lived off the land eh?" Grady asked turning to the Donna that wasn't really his with a smile. "Remember when we had to do that? Merlin, thought I'd die!" Donna laughed awkwardly.

"How could I forget?" she asked, which was a lie since she had never even experienced it. "Hear hear" the dark haired man agreed as they trudged up the stairs, greeting a few people who praised the red head's return before they arrived at their destination. "After this, we'll find you a room Mr. Smith."

--

"We're almost there" Mickey noted. No one had spoken in 20 minutes and a pregnant silence hung between them as they walked. Such silences were reserved after witnessing such terrors and this was perhaps the most awful. Rose, of course, could still remember the orphanage in Scotland and the massacre that had occurred there just months before this.. She bit down on her lower lip and closed her eyes momentarily which was a terrible idea whilst walking but she managed it., "Thank G-d" Rose finally croaked and both Mickey and Jake reached out to touch her but pulled back upon seeing the others hand and frowned. She was already out of reach anyway though.

Some ten minutes later they arrived at the place that the Doctor, Donna, and Grady had arrived at only a few minutes ago "Here's to home" Jake mumbled, trying not to wake the sleeping boy that Rose was clinging to. When she entered the house all the occupants turned to her but she pressed a finger to her lips, nodded towards Robbie and disappeared down the hall to the rooms, leaving Jake and Mickey to explain. She could hear the cries as she put Robbie to bed and sat near him. This was awful.

Meanwhile, Donna, Grady, and 'John' sat in the kitchen eating dry cereal and going over what Donna had 'missed' since she had disappeared. "Bloody hell" Donna murmured and both men nodded in agreement. "What the bloody hell are we going to do?" Grady laughed bitterly, "I have no idea. Rose should be back soon --" it was then that the sobs broke through the house and Grady furrowed his brow, chair scraping out as he left the room to investigate what was going on and leaving the two alone.

"Holy hell!" Donna said in a harsh whisper when Grady was out of earshot and the Doctor only nodded. "This is what our world went through only it was reversed by a paradox machine. The Master had to have built one somehow so if we can find it and dismantle it we can reverse all this too and hopefully no one will have to remember the horrors they've seen. A war like this is bound to kill everyone emotionally." Donna nodded in agreement. "How do we go about finding him?" the red head asked, eating a handful of some awful wheat like cereal as she looked at the Doctor who paused in his thoughts. "We find Rose and go from there" he replied.

"How do you feel?" Donna asked then and the Doctor blinked and shrugged. Donna sighed. "Men" she replied, "Time Lord" he corrected. "Smug bastard" she countered and he let out a laugh before he heard people approaching the room again and shut up.


	7. Chapter 7

While it would be nice to say that the footsteps that had promptly shut the Doctor up belonged to the person he was holding his breath for, that simply wasn't the case. The person currently approaching the room was not Rose nor was it Mickey or Jake. Fact of the matter was that it was little Robbie Tyler, clutching tightly to Grady's hand. Rose had wanted him to sleep but Robbie refused upon waking and when he discovered that his sister along with two of the only people he considered family were going out he threw a fit.

Entering the room trailing behind Grady, the older man felt a tug at the door and turned back to see the blond boy staring in at the kitchen's occupants. "Hey, it's okay." he said trying to coax him in but it was to no avail. The Doctor leaned back some in his chair to see who was causing the hold up whilest Donna leaned across the table to try and spy a peek. This action didn't help at all.

Robbie inched behind Grady and peered out from behind him. "They're not going to hurt you." Grady promised and the Doctor tried to smile reassuringly. "Cross our hearts" he said, nodding his head and Grady smiled. "See, just like I told you. Now come eat or Rose will be very upset when she gets back. You don't want Rose to be upset, do you?"

The statement threw the occupantrs of the table off. How did this boy affect Rose's life other than sharing a safe house with her? Who was he? Oh Rassilion, did Rose have a baby? Is that who this child was? Was it Mickey the Idiots? The Doctor felt sick to his stomach and Donna failed to notice as she was still trying to see the boy.

"Look who's back too Robbie" he said, finally picking the two year old up in his arms since he wasn't moving despite the promise of Rose being upset. "It's Donna - look Donna's back" Grady said softly and Robbie buried his face in the mans shoulder and shook his head.

Grady offered them a tiny smile as he sat down in a chair, Robbie still in his arms. "Stubborn this one, just like his sister." Ah relief, the Doctor exhaled a breath he hadn't even realized he was holding. This was her little brother, the boy she had told him about at the beach. Finally an affectionate smile came out of the Doctor and the look of sea sickness disappated.

Still, the lingering fear of Rose having moved on, having found someone, sat in his stomach and while he liked Mickey the idea of him touching Rose was enough to make him sick and whats more is he knew that in the past Mickey had. After all, once upon a time Mickey the Idiot was Rose's boyfriend which was something the Doctor never had been.

Opening his mouth to speak finally, the tiny boy cut him off with a remarkably small voice. "Will she really be upset?" he asked sounding so small and utterly broken. Both the Doctor and Donna felt their hearts breaking.

"Who?" Grady asked, looking down as he finally pulled his face away from his shoulder. "Rose, will she really be upset?" he asked, sniffing and rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands. "She was crying today" the little boy informed Grady a few tears squeezing out of his eyes as he spoke. "When she found them, she cried and cried." he said his face screwing up once more before his head sunk into Grady and the man frowned.

In truth, Robbie looked just like Rose minus the fact that he had big blue eyes. Swallowing, the Doctor looked on. Rose had cried, today, this very day. Maybe while he was in the subway tunnels or trecking back to the house with the two adults currently sitting at the table but whenever and where ever it had been he wasn't there. Though they had long since been separated the Doctor still wished to uphold the promise he made to Jackie; to keep her safe, keep her happy, and here she was in the middle of a war, crying.

"Found who?" the Doctor questioned after a brief moment which insighted more sobs from Robbie. Immediately the Doctor regretted asking the question but he needed to know so either way it had to be done. Grady rubbed the small boy's back to try and comfort him before addressing the Doctor.

"Safe house" he whispered, "A little bit away from here - housed a lot of the children, mostly orphans. It was .. It was attacked today. Rose and her lot tried to get there in time. They noticed the Toclafane disappearing and Rose well, she knew something was up - figured it out in no time but she was still too late." he whispered so that Robbie couldn't here. Of course, the boy was still crying. "Robbie was the only one who made it, hid out you see." he said and the Doctor just nodded and decided to shut up and ask question later when children weren't involved.

Turning his attention to the blond then, Grady rocked him gently, "It's okay. It's okay little man. Do you know how brave you are? Huh? So brave, so brave. I bet Rose was really proud of you, huh? You're a survivor is what you are." the dark haired man insisted but Robbie just shook his head and started crying. "They're all -- all -- all -- they all died" he sobbed, shaking his head. "And, and, and I was so -- so -- sc--sc--scared. So scared" he said clinging to Grady.

"I want Rose" he said between sobs. The Doctor and Donna had fallen silent as they watched, the Doctor biting his lower lip in thought. In his past life, he hadn't done domestic and to be truthful he wasn't the best with kids but this was Rose's brother and therefore he felt obligated to comfort him. However, he found he couldn't and in turn felt a bit sick with himself.

It was still hard to process though, that this child before him had gotten to have the past 2 years with her while he had been struggling. He felt like a terrible person .. Or .. Well … Time Lord for being a bit jealous of that fact.

"Rose will be back soon, I promise" Grady assured the crying boy who shook his head. "No -- no -- no" Robbie insisted and the Doctor finally opened his mouth to speak. "You know Robbie, I knew your sister before all this." he began gently and the Donna gave him a curious look whilest the boy he was talking to just sniffled and refused to look at him.

"I promise, I did and you know what? She was really brave and I bet she still is. Yeah? She saved my life a whole bunch of times so I bet that before you know it, she'll be back." and G-d, he really hoped she would. He wanted to see Rose though in truth he had no idea what he was going to do or say when he saw her. He was relying on Rose to take the lead and he hoped it would be good. He hoped this war hadn't killed the spirit in her and if it had he would kill the people responsible. Harold Saxon basically. The Doctor swallowed, he thought he was over this.

"You know Rose?" the silence broke after a moment, the boy still wasn't looking at the Doctor but his tiny voice rang true and the Doctor smiled. "I do, she was my" a beat "my best mate a long time ago. We got into a lot of trouble, had a lot of fun." he said with a tone of sadness since he had lost all that long ago.

"She's my best mate" Robbie said defensively after a moment, "We have fun together". Obviously the boy was very protective of his older sister even though a 2 year old couldn't do much to protect her. "Yeah." the Doctor said with a nod, "Yeah and I bet she'd want you to be happy and smiling when she got home, hmm?" Donna added with a small smile and Robbie turned to her apparently just registering her prescence in the room.

"Donna?" he asked, giving a sniffle and looking at her curiously before rubbing his eyes childishly. "…..yeah?" the woman replied after a moments hesitation. Donna was kind but she was awkward around children - just a bit. Robbie smiled a bit and nearly fell out of the chair before going over and hugging her. Donna looked relatively surprised but she smiled a bit and hugged him back.

Climbing into her lap moments after he finally looked directly at the Doctor and blinked owlishly. Despite the horrors he'd seen, Robbie maintained a doe eyed look about him - one that said that he was willing to trust people and while the Doctor hoped that was true he hoped it wasn't at the same time. Such a trait could be used to exploit and use him by others trying to stay alive.

"Who are you?" Robbie asked then and the Doctor nodded. "I'm the Doc -- John Smith." he said quickly correcting himself and watching as Robbie blinked curiously at him. "The Doc John Smith?" he repeated after a moments hesistation looking like maybe, just maybe he wanted to laugh. The Doctor smiled awkwardly, "I suppose you could call me that." the so called Mr. Smith replied and Robbie finally grinned and nodded. "You know my Rose?" he asked, emphasizing the my in it to make sure the Doctor knew they were close which caused the Doctor to smile a bit

"I do" he confirmed as Grady got up and began shifting through the cabinets. "So Robbie, what do you say to spaghetti o's?" Grady asked after a moment - a question to which the small boy nodded eagerly in Donna's lap before climbing off and running over to the lower cabinets and opening them.

"Oi little man whatcha looking for?" Grady asked as he searched for a can opener, keeping an eye on the blond out of the corner of his eye but Robbie didn't say anything as he pulled pots and pans out. "Robbie" Grady repeated after a moment, "What are you looking for?" and again the toddler didn't answer. However he couldn't ask again because he found whatever it was at the back of the cabinet and ran over to the Doctor.

"Did you know her too?" he asked, shoving a picture in his face and Grady looked over curiously at the pair. "What is that Robbie, what was it doing back there?" apparently though Grady had become invisible since he wasn't answered yet again.

Looking down at the picture the Doctor felt a pang of recognition and love as he took in a picture of the Tylers. Jackie, Pete, and Rose all stood together and they looked just like he remembered them. Running his thumb across Rose's face he nodded, "Yes." he said softly, not looking at the boy just yet and nodding. "Yes I know her." he said, his attention turning to Jackie with a smile. Jackie was a real spitfire she was, he could see where Rose got it from.

"She was my Mum" Robbie informed him promptly as if he didn't know, "…What was she like?" he asked and the Doctor blinked a few times whilest Grady looked on in silent sadness at the scene. Robbie hadn't known Jackie and neither had Grady. Jackie was one of the first to die in this war. Sometimes he felt like it was Rose's personal vendetta to avenge her mother's death.

Looking up for an answer, hoping it wasn't the one he expected the Doctor swallowed as Grady nodded and Donna sadly shook her head and looked at the boy. Oh, poor Jackie. Poor Rose. Poor Pete… poor Robbie.

Taking a deep breath, the Doctor placed the photo on the table and folded his arms behind his head - stretching a bit. "You're Mum -- like your sister -- was certainly one of a kind" Robbie smiled at this and much to the Doctor's surprise crawled into his lap and nodded. "Yeah" Robbie agreed and in return the time lord couldn't help but smile at the boy. He was endearing much like his sister.

Of course, like Donna, the Doctor was very awkward with children and so his once relaxed sitting position immediately became stiff and uncomfortable looking whilest Robbie looked up at him with big blue eyes. The next hour was spent recalling many Jackie memories whilest Robbie ate and nodded and smiled.

When time was up and Robbie was nearly falling asleep Grady informed the boy that he had to go to bed. Robbie, in turn, refused and covered his ears. "I won't go - you can't make me I won't. I won't" he said shaking his head. Grady sighed, "Robbie you need rest and -- "

"No, no I don't want to go there. I don't want to be alone, don't make me. Don't!" The trio felt a swell of sadness in there hearts and Grady faltered. "What if you went to the common room, yeah? We'll all sit with you." Grady suggested and Robbie hesitated. "Even the Doc?" he asked quietly which caused the Doctor to ruffle his hair a bit - having grown fond of the child over the past 60 minutes. "Even me" the Doctor assured him and finally Robbie gave in and nodded.

The reviews are great! Keep them coming and I'll keep these chapters coming!


	8. Chapter 8

"It's a right bit eerie, isn't it?" Mickey asked, peering out of the shadow they were hiding in and taking in the London streets. There wasn't much left and normally this area was controlled by the Toclafane but tonight - for some reason - there were none.

"More than eerie" Rose agreed softly, her finger held steadfast at the trigger of her gun. You could never be too careful these days. "Where do you think they are?" Jake rasped from somewhere in the background, looking to Rose for guidance. Rose was the most experienced in this field and for once in her life, Rose Tyler really wished she wasn't.

"I have no idea but .. It can't be good." she replied softly, finally tearing her eyes away from the vacant streets to look at her companions. The sun was well on it's way down and she could barely see anymore. "I think Saxon might be up to something though. Things have been off lately and I'd heard from one of the Torchwood members in Wales that there was a major attack well on it's way and if that's the case we need to grab as much as we possibly can to stock up. We can't have the whole of headquarters going hungry or we'll be shit out of luck." Rose explained in a harsh whisper and the two men nodded in agreement.

"I'd say we're already shit out of luck" Mickey murmured after a few seconds and Rose let out a small bitter laugh. "Ay, hear hear. I'm right with you." she agreed and Mickey gave her a small smile and a nod whilst Jake looked ahead into the street. "Think it's clear?" he asked hesitantly and Rose held up a finger as if to say wait before looking. "Alright, coast is clear. The barracks are just down the way, about 5 blocks. If we get separated you know where to meet up. There. We'll try to be about 10 minutes but if one of us falls behind wait approximately thirty before leaving. If you're the one left behind stay in the barracks till the morning. We'll report back then to see." the brunette explained quickly though they all knew this routine quite well. They never had to deal with the what if the stranded individual wasn't there the next morning. It was too much to think about for the trio of young adults.

"Ready - on three" Rose whispered after a moment, "and one, two, three!"

--

"He's two" Grady began as the three adults plus Robbie situated themselves on the couch in the common area. Robbie had curled up next to the Doctor and in his sleep his head came to rest in his lap. He was now unconsciously stroking the boys hair.

"So, he grew up in the war then?" The Doctor asked, cutting off Donna since they were all under the impression that she knew all this. Unfortunately she was not the Donna Noble they all knew so well so her role in this house would be much harder than his.

"Ay, he did" Tumnus acknowledged the question with a nod. "And Jac -- his mother?" the Doctor asked trying to keep himself in control and not fly off the handle or dare he say it - cry. The last time he had shed a tear was when he said good bye to Rose and now he felt all the more like crying since he had left her in a world like this.

"The day the Prime Minister, if you could call him that, was elected was the day this all began. Saxon had us all fooled -- I mean bloody hell I even voted for him" the man said, shaking his head and giving his hair a tug. "Fuck" he mumbled under his breath shaking his head some more.

"It's alright" Donna returned softly, standing and moving over to Grady's chair to hop up on the arm and rest a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Donna Noble was really growing into a good sidekick and now with Rose back the Tardis team would be, quite frankly, brilliant. Still, the Doctor worried, would she want to come with him and would they even be able to get out of here? Would she leave Robbie behind and if she did come would he come with?

The Doctor looked down at the blond boy whilst Grady had his spout of insecurity, realizing what he was doing and knitting his brow together but still he continued. The Tardis was no place for a child to grow up but neither was this. He only hoped he could return it to the way it should have been - fix this disaster and be on his way with Rose at his side hopefully. If the history of this war held true to the one on parallel earth then the Paradox machine was the key.

Finally, Grady cleared his throat and the Doctor peered up, urging the man to continue. "A lot of people died that day. Nearly 1/3 of the population. Not just London's - the world. It was like -- G-d it was like the sky opened up and down rained death. As a boy I always assumed hell was beneath us, who knew it would come from above?" he said his voice growing hoarse and he steadied himself and tried to continue. "My family, I lost them. All of them. I was on the other side of London and they were at home. They attacked the residences first before continuing without rhyme or reason. That same day, Torchwood went down. No one quite knows what went on inside aside from Rose, Jake, Mickey, and Pete"

The Doctor nodded, his face showing recognition at the names and so he had to ask, "Are they still alive, Mickey, Pete, and Jake?" Despite having a bit of a dislikement towards the boy he still thought Mickey was a pretty brilliant bloke. In truth it probably had to do with the idea of him touching Rose .

"Yes" Grady said, letting the Doctor exhale the breath he had been holding and smiling. "Pete Tyler is the head of Torchwood and he's constantly moving from city to city … or well .. The cities that still have people in them that is. There are multiple headquarters and safe houses spread out across the eastern wall. The Americas, we don't quite know. Contact is nearly impossible but we find our ways. Rose is the head of most of England so you can imagine the foot work she does. Mainly, this is her home though. Mickey and Jake are with her where she goes, they go. They've been through a lot I suppose. Seen a lot even before this, or so people say" Grady explained with a small shrug before clearing his throat and continuing.

"Anyway, the first day - yeah?" Grady took a deep breath and sighed before trudging onward. "When they attacked Torchwood - well - Rose said that her Mum got in the way. I think she blames herself. See, the shot that killed Jackie was meant for Rose. The Master himself had headed down at that time for the sole purpose of finding her. I don't know how he knew about her already … it was like he could see it. Like he cheated and skipped ahead in time." he said and the Doctor only nodded. If the Master here was a Time Lord then he was certain he had. Was there a him, he couldn't help but wonder.

"I see .." was all the Doctor could say, looking down at Robbie and falling deep into thought. "I know that look" Donna said after a moment, causing the Doctor's head to jerk up to see who she meant before realizing it was him. Donna gave him an affectionate smile. "C'mon, let's head upstairs then Grady" she said, giving the Doctor's shoulder a squeeze before exiting the room - Grady trailing behind - and leaving the Doctor alone in his thoughts.

--

Breathing heavily, Rose Tyler flattened herself against the side of the food barrack and squeezed her eyes shut - willing herself to either become invisible or sink through the siding into the place she was meant to be. As a girl, she always thought things like that would work and because of it she had broken plenty of bones.

Each break told a story; the day she learned she couldn't fly, the day she learned if Mickey jumped on the other side of the sea-saw she would not shoot into outer space, the day she learned she couldn't skateboard.

Rose wasn't thinking about such memories though she was only thinking about what would happen if she was caught. There was a good chance she would be killed on the spot but there was also a good chance she would be taken in to Saxon and then what? Torture was what she figured and she felt her blood run cold at the idea. Still, how much more pain could she ever be in? Swallowing loudly, she peeked an eye open and found the space before her … vacant.

Checking the left, then the right, she slowly crept along before making her way into the barrack and discovering she was the last one in.

"And where have you been? We were worried!" Mickey said harshly and Rose, out of breath, shook her head. "You know how I said the streets were basically vacant?" she asked to which the boys nodded, "I lied" she finished and they both made an 'Oh' noise.

"You okay?" Jake asked, stopping in the middle of stuffing his sack with canned goods. Rose nodded, "Yeah, yeah, fine - just out of breath" she explained, clutching her chest and leaning against the wall. Jake nodded and Mickey went over to her, offering her their canteen before going back to work.

After taking a long sip, Rose closed her eyes and sighed before slinging her bag off her shoulder and opening it. They had to hurry, now that she knew Toclafane were out there it would be much more difficult maneuvering their way back to the safe house without getting caught or being followed.

--

"Do you know how he knows the Tylers?" Grady asked. Donna and Grady had returned to the kitchen, sitting awkwardly across from one another which surprised the dark haired man as they had never been awkward before. In fact, Donna had always been one of his closer mates in the house and so when she had gone missing he was devastated.

Pausing momentarily, Donna thought about how to go about explaining this while still making sense before continuing. "I know he met Rose when she was .. Mmmm .. 18? 19? 19 I think, yeah, 19." she said with a nod. It was impossible to be around the Doctor without some mention of his long lost companion. "They got along quite well as you can imagine, became great mates and started traveling together." she explained and Grady listened intently.

"Was it the war that separated them then? If they were so close?" the man asked and Donna hesitated before deciding that was the best explanation since she barely understood the void herself. She certainly couldn't explain it to another individual. "Yes, she believes him to be dead I think." Donna added in to explain the surprise Rose would no doubt exhibit upon seeing him.

Of course, Donna was simply dying of curiosity herself as to what Rose looked like and how she would react upon seeing the Doctor. Having not caught a glimpse of the picture earlier, she wanted to know how this reunion ago and just how close she was to the Doctor.

Donna honestly couldn't see the Doctor in a romantic relationship but then again she was not attracted to him to begin with and of course he hadn't exhibited any normal male tendencies because while not only was he not a human he had also been suffering from losing Rose the entire time she knew him. Maybe she would bring out a different side of him.

She'd have to wait and see she supposed.

--

"C'mon Mickey we're almost there" Rose said, urging her childhood friend on as they trudged along the back allies leading to the safe house. They needed to get home and they needed to get home soon. More Toclafane would no doubt be returning and returning soon. After all, she had been seen and if they had gotten a scan of her face they'd know it was her and Saxon's search crews would go out on the double.

She felt like kicking herself for being so foolish and slipping up so immensely. Now they knew for certain that she was in the area, having avoided being caught earlier. On her own in the field without any other agents she was vulnerable and so scanning her was much more likely. Oh bloody hell.

"Almost there" Rose repeated again as they rounded a corner, barely missing a Toclafane as it zipped past. Holding back a gasp, Rose sucked in her breath willing any noise they had made during the past few seconds to dissipate as she watched the alien being continue on it's way - the three proper humans remaining undetected. Holding back a sigh to risk exposure, Rose chose to begin communicating with her hands rather then her words and the three dashed across to the next alley - appearing on the outskirts of their head quarters just minutes later.

"Here take my bag and go around the front, I'm going in the back to check on Robbie. You lot get this in the kitchen." she said in a whisper and Mickey and Jake just nodded - taking her bag and watching her round the corner before going in through the front.

Creeping up around the side, Rose still kept a sharp eye out despite being relatively safe. Opening the back door, if you could call it that, and sneaking in backwards, her gun still pointed at the door as she backed down the hall. The moment her body was entirely in though, she shut it and set the alarms up once more, sighing and resting her head against the door to collect herself.

Little did she know, her entrance had been noticed but not by an enemy in fact by the exact opposite - by the Doctor. Having not seen her face and not knowing that Rose was now a natural brunette, he assumed it was someone else and watched as the woman leaned against the door, remaining silent as it seemed like she needed a moment to herself.

Still, after about 5 minutes he grew worried and making sure he kept his voice down he let out a whisper. "Oi, are you alright over there? Are you hurt, do you need help?" he whispered, keeping his eyes trained on the woman and noting immediately that she tensed up. "Sorry" he said then, "didn't mean to startle you."

Of course, the Doctor didn't know that the reason tension returned to her tired muscles was not because she hadn't been expecting to hear another voice but rather because the voice she did hear was so familiar that she could hardly bare it.

Swallowing loudly, Rose tried not to panic or freak out because the voice that was currently penetrating her thoughts couldn't possibly belong to the man or rather Time Lord she thought it did. It was her imagination playing tricks on her again and still her heart sped up and her breathing grew unsteady as she leaned against the door before gently pushing back to stare at the wood for a second longer.

Meanwhile, the Doctor looked on in silence as the woman grew a bit frantic and he in turn felt terrible for throwing her off guard. "Listen, miss I'm terribly sorry for intruding it's just" he began, allowing Robbie to slip from his lap as he stood, "You seemed distraught and I was wondering if --"

And it was then that Rose turned around and the Doctor's breath caught in his throat as he took her in as did Rose's. "Rose" he whispered gently and much to his surprise the blond turned brunette shook her head and backed up against the door, her face growing frantic. "No" she said softly shaking her head "No, no, no"

Well, that was certainly unexpected.


	9. Chapter 9

"Rose" the Doctor said softly, furrowing his brow in surprise at her reaction. He had expected a hug, a great big hug, like the ones she used to bestow upon him, not this. Rose shook her head.. "Not him" she cried softly, shaking her head and covering her ears as she backed up fully into the door and tried not to look at him.

"Rose, it's me." the Doctor said, trying not to break under her duress. "Rose, please" he said, the hurt welling up inside him as he watched her. "No!" Rose shouted, shaking her head. "Not him, do what you want but not him!" she said, voice raising now. "How did you know? How did you see, Saxon" the name came out with such distaste as she looked at the Doctor, her Doctor, without recognition. It nearly killed him.

"I've blocked my mind. I've kept you out. There are walls, I assure you! Walls that you cannot break through and he's behind one how did you see him, how did you?" she accused now, advancing a step in defiance which surprised the Doctor. If Rose thought he was the leader of this war why was she about to take him on - alone?

"I won't let you take him from me" she said in a harsh whisper now, "Do what you want but him - you can't have. You can't!" she said, her raised voice inciting alarm throughout the house and pretty soon Donna, Grady, Mickey, and Jake were racing down the stairs just in time to see Rose slap the Doctor right across the face, her eyes finally welling up with tears as she bit her lips and shook her head.

"You're not him" she said, her voice harsh and broken though it was obvious she was trying desperately to keep control. "You aren't, you'll never be him, never know him. Never." she said as she stood there, tears leaking down her face. "You" she stuttered now, wavering just a bit "can't have him." she said, swallowing the lump in her throat and shaking a bit.

"Rose!" Mickey shouted, and her gaze finally snapped back to see her friend. Her face screwed up as she let out a sob. "Stop it!" and with that, Rose Tyler's slight wavering caused her to nearly collapse, the Doctor catching her which caused her to shout in fright, shoving him away and looking at him in such horror he didn't know what to do. "No, no" she said and before she knew what she was doing she was fleeing the safe house, leaving the people in the common room in such confusion.

"You said you knew her, you said you were her friend!" Grady shouted an accusation. "You vouched for him Donna - you - you -" he stuttered, looking at the open door as the Doctor stood there.

"Who?!" Mickey shouted in anger, "Who, who is this? Who is he?" he exclaimed, grabbing the Doctor by the shoulder and jerking him around. Gasping in shock, Mickey stumbled back eyes wide as he looked at him. "How? How are you here? Where have you been?" he asked in disbelief, looking at him in the same manner in which Jake was.

"It was an accident." Donna supplied seeing as the Doctor was speechless. Mickey turned to the red head with a look of disbelief. "Donna, how do you know him?" he asked in a state of confusion, Grady was entirely lost and so he hung in the back. "The Tardis, she fell through -- through" the red head stumbled and the Doctor aided her by completing the sentence. "The void Mickey. She fell through the void .. Again" he said softly, looking at the man who just opened and closed his mouth like a fish.

"You said it was impossible though, that you could never come back." he said, stepping forward and gaining courage. "How did she do it now? Why now? Do you know what she's been through, how much she cried? She mourned you for weeks, she hasn't ever been the same! When you left a part of her died and you didn't even try!" Mickey shouted, "You left her - us - here! Jackie is dead! She's dead! And it's all your fault!" he shouted and the Doctor nodded.

"I know" he said softly, "I'm sorry but I can't stay and explain I need to go after her, it's not safe!" the Doctor supplied and Donna stepped in between the men, pushing Mickey back a bit despite being unfamiliar with him. Mickey in turn shook the hand off and glared at the Doctor, "What gives you the right to go after her! Did you see her reaction, she doesn't want you anymore!" he exclaimed, now noting that Robbie was now stirring and looking around in confusion.

"I'm sorry Mickey - I have to. I can't lose her - not again" and without another word, the Doctor fled out the door without regard leaving Donna to deal with the confusion. Sighing, Donna looked over her shoulder at him, "Bloody alien! Good for nothing" she mumbled under her breath though truthfully she was just worried for both him and this Rose she had yet to formally meet.

Turning when she heard Robbie let out a cry and race to the door the four left in the living room watched the little boy begin pounding on the door. "No, no, no!" he cried, "You chased him away, far away Mickey. No, no! The Doc!" he exclaimed causing Mickey to begin to seethe. How could he just come back into the lives of his family and stake claim after missing the past two years? So many had died and where had he been? Off gallivanting with other companions he reckoned which brought him to Donna. How did Donna know him?

Slowly walking over, Mickey scooped the boy up in his arms and held him tight before turning to Donna. "I'm putting him to bed then you're going to explain what the bloody hell just happened and who the bloody hell you are. You're not our Donna, that's for sure" he said, starting down the hall with Robbie.

Donna sighed, and rubbed his forehead whilest Jake and Grady looked at her. "Right mess this is" she muttered and Jake didn't say anything for a moment. "Tell me about it" he agreed and with that she looked up, "If you're not Donna - our Donna - then who are you?" Grady said, finally voicing his question with a furrowed brow and a more than slightly confused look on his face.

"Me?" Donna began, "Oh, I'm just a friend." she said, looking between the two. "There's a lot of explaining to be done, don't worry. You'll know soon." she said, looking back at the door once more. "Good luck Doctor" she mumbled before taking up seat on one of the sofa's and waiting for Mickey's inevitable return.

--

It was cold, that was the first thing the Doctor noted as he burst out into the night. Earlier in the day it hadn't been as chilly but with the sun down it was inevitable that the tempture would drop a great many degrees. Breathing heavily, he spun around in place just in time to catch a bit of brown hair looping around the corner. "Rose" he whispered, darting after her into the alley she had retreated down.

The more he thought about it, the more sensible her reaction had been but none of his undeniable logic could soothe him at the moment. Seeing Rose look at him with such hate was breaking his hearts and to know she felt such pain and still felt so protective of him - well - he didn't know what to do. He needed to talk to her, see her, hold her. He longed for a hug, to breath in that scent that was just so Rose. He wanted to reach out and touch her hair, close his eyes and just hold on to her. He could remember the two kisses they did share and though neither of them were based on a romantic occurance per say he still held them near and dear. To feel her pressed --

He had to stop thinking about that. Even when he got Rose back, convinced her of him being real, there was still no chance of that happening. He was a Time Lord, it couldn't. Besides Rose probably didn't think of him like that. He wasn't very attractive to his knowledge, and he rambled a lot. Who liked rambling? Welllll, she did always smile when he got carried away and the way her face lit up when he taught her something knew and just -- Bloody hell -- he was getting away from himself again. He had to focus.

Jogging up ahead, the Doctor tried to find where the Brunette had run off too and before he could get his footing he was yanked backwards into a delapitated building and found himself right on his arse as the door shut and darkness fell over them. The moon filtered in through the dirty windows and after squinting quite a bit he could finally make out who the perpetrator was.

Forunately, the woman who had pulled him backwards into the building was the same woman as he was looking for. Looking up at her, he felt his jaw go slack as he took her in. She was beautiful, her face stained with tears - something that was illuminated by the moonlight as was her pale skin and her brown hair.

"Rose" he whispered, his voice taking on the quality as it had when he cut through to her dreams.

"Shut up, you shut up right now." she said, pointing her gun at him which apparently appeared out of no where. The Doctor scuttled back a bit, "Rose, it's me. I promise you - it's me!" he said looking out her and silently willing her to believe him but she just shook her head.

"It's not fair! Haven't you taken enough? My Mother? My Father? You've taken everything!" she said, raising her voice just a bit as she spoke, "I've spent the last 2 years watching everybody die. I can't even begin to total up the bodies. Men, women, children" she shook her head and pursed her lips together to hold back a sob. "I've lost everything and still you won't stop - you have to keep going and now you're taunting me with him!" she said frantically closing her eyes momentarily before snapping them open and looking at him.

"It isn't right, it isn't fair. If this is your trickery then fine - so be it. Change back though, change back Master and just kill me if that's what you're here to do." Rose said, pleading just a bit. "You've got me, right where you want so just do it because you can't look like him. You're not him!" she said, talking in circles while the tears started to flow more freely. Her voice wavered and quaked accordingly as the Doctor watched, her sorrow rubbing off onto him as his expression fell.

"Rose, Rose please, look at me. It's me, I'm the Doctor. Your Doctor." he said, standing now and daring a step.

"Get back! Just -- Just get back!" she shouted, her hand shaking as she pointed her gun at him. "You're not him he can't come here. I'm stuck, trapped, I'm bloody well stuck in this hell hole until I die and you know what? You know what the real kicker is?" she said, laughing bitterly as she shook her head. "I won't even be able to see him then!" she said her voice breaking as she started laughing, "Oh G-d, live my life out in this fucking place, all alone. Bloody well alone and when I die I won't even get to rest" she said, shaking her head.

":Isn't that rich, eh Master? Real rich. I never used to be much for satire but now I see it and oh it's my future!" she exclaimed, drawing more attention whilest the Doctor blinked slowly and watched the woman before him. His Rose. His broken, shattered Rose and it was his fault. He swallowed the lump in his throat which he assumed was his guilt.

"Oh, Rose, I'm so sorry Rose. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't come for you, I'm sorry I never got to tell you at Bad Wolf Bay that I -- " the Doctor started but that was it, it was the last straw.

"SHUT UP! SHUT THE BLOODY HELL UP! JUST STOP, STOP IT! You're driving me mad. In fact, there's a good chance I already am mad!" she shouted which caused the Doctor to flinch. "Rose, they'll find us, you have to --" he began, making a hand gesture for her to take it down a notch which only angered her more.

"Who cares! Who cares if they find us? They're your army! They're at your every bec and call so call them. Go on, call them! I'm going out of my bloody mind." she said, advancing on him and backing him against the wall which caused the Doctor's breath to hitch and his eyes to widen. "Rose, please" he pleaded softly and for a moment the anger in her eyes faded and a look of confusion and perhaps belief flickered across them but not for long and then it was gone.

"Every time I close my eyes I see them. All of them. Every single person I've lost and then he comes and he tells me it'll be alright" Rose said, her voice rough and her eyes sad. "Sometimes I even believe them, do you know that?" she said with a sad bitter laugh. "I wake up and I think, I really think that this - this world - it was all a dream and I'm still there and I'm still with him" she said, her voice shaking and cracking. "But it's not a dream and the room I wake up in isn't the Tardis and his hand isn't here to hold and it's not going to be alright and you've made sure of that." she said in a harsh whisper, her gun shaking in hand.

"This wouldn't even kill you" she said in a sudden moments of recognition and with that the gun clattered to the floor and Rose stepped back. "So do it, kill me, go on." she said spreading her arms and making herself an easy target.

"Rose" the Doctor said in a deep rough voice, trying to keep his feelings in check but it was hard because his eyes were beginning to fill with tears. "Rose Tyler" he repeated but the woman in front of him was trying desperately to ignore him. "This isn't you Rose, this isn't you. You're a fighter, a survivor. You're defender of the earth, yeah? Remember that?" he asked approaching her slowly but Rose only shut her eyes and squeezed a few tears out.

"You're not him" she whispered, "Just stop it. I'll never see him again and this is just a cruel tease. Don't you dare pretend to be him, not anymore. Stop" she choked out and the Doctor's hearts broke and just as he reached out to touch her there was a crash from outside and Rose's eyes shot open, "What was that?" she asked


	10. Chapter 10

"What was that?" Rose asked, her light brown eyes finally opening up, her tears sparkling in the moonlight and for a moment, just a moment, the Doctor forgot the danger they might be in before shaking it off and looking around. "I don't know" he returned but Rose shot him a glare before stumbling backwards.

"They're your friends, the Toclafane" she said with such disdain it caught him off guard. "Rose please this isn't --"

But he couldn't finish the statement because the door was shot down and in came one of the many soilders of Harry Saxon. Without a second thought, the Doctor grabbed Rose's hand, gave her a look and said one simple word - the same word that started their relationship off; "Run!"

And they did, despite all the aches and pains ringing throughout Rose's body she ran and she didn't think about the Toclafane behind her or the man holding her hand or any of that. She focused instead on the wind in her hair and how it nipped at her skin - seeming to sink down, down to her very bones - and the sound of her feet falling in step with anothers. She felt the ground beneath her feet as her soles were worn thin and she could even feel the pulse of the Doctor's beating through her hand. It was eratic and constant, a beating drum beckoning her to listen - to believe. Maybe it was moarse code, maybe what his heart was saying was a simple message desperately trying to convey it's truth to her. Maybe what his hearts were saying was her name, "Rose."

It wasn't really the Doctor though, was it? Rose looked at the back of his head as he ran. It was brown and oh so mussable, he spoke like the Doctor and held himself like the Doctor but the Master was a great manipulator and he could very easily be using her one weakness against her. He had done it before when she had found herself in his holds just after the war began. He came as her Mum, conjured up her flat back on her home planet, but he had never gotten through to the Doctor and she was certain that he still wouldn't be able too and if that was the case and if this wasn't the Master then --

"Quick, here" the Doctor said, stopping to catch Rose and guide her inside another building, descending the stairs into a long since abandoned basement; holding his breath and her hand. After several long moments he sighed and turned to Rose.

"I --" she began, wrenching her hand from his and taking a few steps back. He had saved her, led her away from danger. It couldn't be him though, it just couldn't. It was impossible. "Prove that you're him, prove it" she said in a harsh whisper, looking over at the man with such desperation it touched his very soul.

The Doctor, in all his infinite wisdom suddenly paused, his breathing a bit loud as he thought. "Anything I say will be argued. If I am this …. This …. War lord and I saw … myself? … in your head then - then everything I know could have come from that" he said, rubbing the back of his head as he watched her, one hand stuffed awkwardly into his pocket as he fingered his sonic screwdriver.

"Which is smart, I mean, hell Rose, I always knew you were smart. Brilliant even, you know that right? Out of all my companions Rose - all of them - you were always so - so - so different. Special." he said in a low voice, pacing a bit now in a fit of restlessness. He couldn't bring himself to look over at Rose though in fear she would still be shooting daggers his way.

Of course, at the moment, she wasn't. She was only listening and with each passing word her resolve was weakening, her sense of disbelief dwindling as her brain processed the information being given to her.

"I'm sorry Rose, please believe me when I say I'm sorry. When I left you here I never - I never thought that something like this could happen. I mean, oh G-d, I would've let them collapse Rose, both universes, both, if it meant I could save you from suffering this." the Doctor said, exasperated, "And do you know how confusing that is, for me? Wellllll not is, more like was, how confusing that was. Past tense, I'm not so much confused anymore about it. Time Lords are sensical beings, for the most part." he said half expecting to hear a laugh but again the circumstances surrounding this conversation were nothing to laugh at so for once he didn't pause for theatrics.

"We look out for the majority of the universe and one person could never be a majority. I looked at the world, the universe, all of space with this - this - this cold sense of logic and yes I saved many people and creatures when they weren't fixed points in time and their being saved didn't harm anybody else but I can honestly say that you, Rose Tyler, are the only person I would ever risk threatening the collapse of two universes for" he said, his voice turning into a whisper towards the end as did his pacing. Instead, he stared down at the trainers on his feet, rubbing the back of his neck again and letting out a sigh.

Meanwhile, Rose stood dumbfounded only feet away as she absorbed the rant, confession, or whatever the long speech the Doctor had just given her could be classified as.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath letting it in and out as she soaked up her words and allowed herself for a brief moment to fully give in and believe. She told herself it would just be for a moment but once she let herself believe this man was the Doctor she didn't want to give it up. Not yet … not ever. She didn't have to either thank goodness because the more he spoke the more assured she was in beginning to settle on the fact that he was telling the truth.

Pausing in her thoughts when his comforting voice came to a halt, Rose peered over at him and watched as he displayed the typical mannerisms of the Doctor in distress and in turn she let out a sigh and blinked. "I'm dreaming" she said after a moment, causing the Doctor to look.

"No" the man insisted, looking at her with a pleading expression, asking - no begging her - to take his word. "Rose, I'm real. You're real. This is real and for that I'm sorry. G-d, Rose, I'm so sorry" he muttered, sadly shaking his head while she in turn shook.

"No" she whispered, clutching her hands together to get them to stop moving, "No, you can't be real." she whispered, shaking her head. "And I can't let myself believe it. I already have and it hurts. It hurts" she said, closing her eyes and trying to think. "I can't see you and lose you again. You visit almost every night, in my dreams, that's the only reasonable explanation. I've never had one be so real before though" Rose reasoned in a low voice as she took a few tentative steps towards him.

"I'm not a dream Rose" the Doctor said though his focus was on the way she was moving and the hand that was reaching for him instead of her face. Rose paused however, mere inches before contact causing the Doctor to lock eyes with her which was her undoing. "Oh" she whispered, just barely, "Oh, oh it is you" she murmured, cupping his cheek in her hand as her body moved forward to close the distance between them.

"It's me" the Doctor agreed softly, feeling a swell of such happiness surge through him in response to her realization. Rose let a tear fall then which the Doctor swiftly raised a hand to swipe away causing her to let out a small noise that almost sounded distressed but he had no time to ask because in that same moment all the space between them disappeared and he found himself with his arms full of Rose.

"Oh Rose, I'm so sorry - I am, so sorry." he murmured against her hair as she cried gently against him, "You deserve so much more than this, so much more. I'm so sorry, I missed you so much Rose - so much." he said, smoothing a hand over her hair, pressing one into the small of her back, holding her as close to him as he possibly could. "Oh, Rose" he said and the manner in which he said it was something soft and passionate that caused her to raise her head to look at him.

"Doctor" she murmured softly, hands returning to cup his face in them as she smoothed her thumbs over his slightly chilled skin. ""Doctor, Doctor, Doctor" she said, repeating his name softly as her hands took in his features and he made sure to hold her gaze.

"Thank G-d for you" she whispered and before there was time for a witty response on his part he found his lips busy with something else or rather, someone else.

It was, of course, truly remarkable how quickly a kiss could be executed especially since kisses held such meaning behind them. Wellll, most kisses, kisses like this, kisses in the middle of a rotten London basement with a woman you hadn't seen in over two years who had finally given into the idea that you're really real. Kisses with Rose Tyler, kisses with Rose Tyler with her arms spun up around your neck; eyes closed, bodies flush, lips pressed together, stuck together like the pages of an old book.

It took a few moments for the Doctor's mind to finally catch up with his body which, to be honest, was a rarity but when it did he wasn't sure whether to kiss back or push her away. Of course his body was screaming for more as was his heart but there it was, his logical side, telling him that she was vulnerable and he was a Time Lord and a relationship like this would never work but for the first time in all 900 and some odd years of his life the Doctor surprisingly pushed logic aside and kissed her back.

It wasn't like the kiss at Platform nor was it like the one on new Earth, this kiss wasn't closed mouthed or short it was passionate and full of emotion. In fact, even if he tried to, the Doctor didn't think he could put it into words which was, again, a first. He supposed, with Rose, there would always be a lot of firsts which was something new for him. His mind was absolutely racing and if he thought Rose's was standing still at the moment he was sorely mistaken.

Because despite seeming entirely sure of herself, Rose was not. Rose was a mess of emotions and nerves, her body awkwardly spindling itself around the Doctor's as her fingers twisted in his overcoat and her lips and tongue fought for dominance over the kiss. It was becoming exceedingly difficult to think as she felt the Doctor's body pressed against her and let his scent linger in her nostrils.

Even if this was a dream, Rose found that she needed it, needed him. She wanted to believe that this was real but there was still a part of her holding her back from that and so she was on the fence as to whether this was a dream or not but even if it was it was wonderful. He was wonderful.

Whimpering into the kiss, Rose pressed the taller man back against the wall, her arms slinking down for his neck to grab two fistfuls of his coat's collar as she tugged him close to her. Entirely lost in the moment, the Doctor tried to focus on something, anything but for once in his life the ground beneath him was giving way and the only place his hands could get grip on were Rose's hips, Rose's back, Rose's hair, Rose's face … Rose.

After a minute or maybe it was an hour, or maybe even a day, the two broke away and the Doctor blinked stupidly at Rose while she took in his face. "Doctor" she mumbled, her lips swollen from kissing, her eyes rimmed red from crying. She was a delightful looking mess, hair all tossled as she looked at him, a look he had missed for so long and could never decipher - until now.

"Rose" he murmured in return, leaning into her hand as she brought it up to stroke his face. "My Doctor" she said softly, biting her lower lip and looking at him. She wanted to ask him how and why and so many other questions but for some reason she couldn't - could only stop and stare at him. She could only take in his facial features and commit them to memory once more in case he was ripped from her again.

Tentatively reaching out, Rose moved her hands to push the Doctor's overcoat from his shoulders causing the Doctor to tense and look at her curiously. "Rose?" he repeated, turning her name into a question of sorts but she didn't answer, only shook her head as she looked up at him. "You're here" she whispered harshly, obviously trying to keep the swell of emotions coursing through her in check.

"You're really here" she repeated and the Doctor could only nod, trying to keep his eyes locked with her as she gave his tie a gentle tug and dragged him in for another kiss.

Most times when the Doctor found himself kissing someone it wasn't very romantic and while he had long debated his relationship with Rose it was hard to say no and argue his way out of it. Again, he wasn't keeping logic in mind when he acted.

Soon the brush of lips against lips became an intricate heated web of limbs and lips and tongues, Rose pressing the whole of herself into the Doctor as she desperately tried to merge with him so as to never be separated from him again and the Doctor longed for the same. Breaking the kiss with a gasp, the Doctor's head lolled to the side, eyes slipping shut as Rose's lips and tongue danced across his neck, working their magic and illciting a number of pleasant noises from him.

"Rose" he groaned, causing her to squirm a little against him, "Ahhhh -- Rose" he mumbled, hissing and chewing on his lower lip. "I -- ahhhh -- I missed you, mmmm, you so mmmmuch." he managed to spit out as he slowly lost all coherent thought. Tilting her head up to nip at his earlobe, he felt the shiver he sent through her but it did not go unrewarded as she leaned in and bit down gently before mumbling, "You have no idea how much I've missed you"

Sighing shakily, the Doctor could only nod, trying to find words and coming up empty handed. The two of them had become entirely lost in each other and had almost forgotten they were in an unstable, unsafe basement like environment but as long as they could keep going - apparently - they were going to do just that.

Hearing the distinct sound of a zipper the Doctor blinked his eyes uneasily and pulled himself out of the haze of pleasure Rose had put him in only to watch her unzip the black vest she had been wearing and drop it to the floor. "Rose" he whispered, opening his mouth to say more - to tell her to stop - to warn her that he wasn't what she wanted but he couldn't so he just said her name again.

"Rose"

"Doctor" she returned softly, reaching down and tugging her black shirt up a little, making sure to take in the motions he went through and the expressions that crossed his oh so adorable face and they were all pleasant until their initimate moment was broken with another crash causing the two to break from the trance they had fallen into and snap back to reality.

Blinking like a woman who had just woke from a coma, Rose looked from the door to the Doctor to the door and back again. "Doctor" she said, her voice finally taking on the quality it should in such a dire situation. Snapping out of his once trance like state he shook it off and pulled on his over coat, walking to the basement window and standing on a box to peek out whilest Rose reluctantly put back on her vest and followed him.

"3." he said after a moment, shifting on the box he was standing on to try and make himself comfortable since, well, he wasn't given what they had just done. It was very rare that the Doctor ever found himself hot and bothered but here he was experiencing just that as was Rose.

Flushed and full of color now, Rose nodded and tried not to focus on the Doctor but rather the impossible task of getting to the safe house … alive. "I'm sorry" she murmured after a moment causing the Doctor to look over at her with a furrowed brow.

"Sorry?" he questioned, looking at her as he rubbed the back of his neck and waited for her to go into further detail but when she didn't he asked "Sorry for what?"

"For running out like that, into all this" she explained, waving her hand and the Doctor understood and nodded.

"Rose, it wasn't your--" he began but was cut off by the brunette.

"It's just that, I mean, I've spent the last 2 years dreaming about you, going over and over and over again in my head about what I could have done differently, how I could have held on to that bloody lever just a bit longer, how it was my fault, how I could still be with you." she explained, wringing her hands together.

"When I lost you I tried not to lose myself, I tried to be someone you'd be proud of and I hope that maybe -- at first -- I was. I don't have much to show for it, not now, not in all this but I tried Doctor I did and it hurt. G-d, it hurt. It was bloody awful and there wasn't a day that went by that I didn 't miss you. When the war came, I just, I thought I was dreaming it all and had never left you." she said, giving a laugh.

"I wish I had never left you. These past two years Doctor, two years and now you come back and I just -- I mean -- I thought he would try to take you like he took my Mum and tried to take Robbie. He not only robs people of their lives but he robs the ones who live on of their memories. He kills the dead even after they've passed on." she said in a harsh whisper. "I was scared he'd kill you too and then -- then I really would never be able to be -- be -- be -- Oh, I don't know" she said.

She seemed nervous and a bit embarrassed throughout the whole confession the Doctor noted though why she did he was unsure. "Rose, hey now, hey, it's okay" he said, hopping down from the box and inciting a large cloud of dirt and dust to explode around him as he crossed the room and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"Don't be sorry, don't you ever be sorry for any of this. It's not your fault Rose. It's mine. Believe you me and when this is over everything will be back to normal. I mean - maybe so normal that you could come" but he could never finish because as he opened his mouth to offer her room and board on the Tardis again the clashing noises grew louder and with it their panic.

"We have to go" Rose said reluctantly, pulling away from the safety of his arms and looking at him, zipping her vest up. "You ready for this?" she asked softly. The Doctor laughed.

"What's it you apes say? -- Oh, yes, I was born ready."

Reviews are awesome! Thanks everyone who has contributed and inspired me to keep writing this story!


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